DURHAM MINISTERS TO LEAD DRUG ABUSE CONFERENCES

DURHAM -- The official kickoff for a series of drug abuse conferences to be
held at the six seminaries supported by the Southern Baptist Convention
will occur at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest Sept. 5.

Durham's Ted Stone and his ministry associate, Philip Barber, will lead the
conferences, which are free and open to the public.

"Those who train to serve the Lord need to have a better idea of the
magnitude of this problem and how to handle it in their respective areas of
service," Stone said.

The conference at Southeastern will begin in Appleby Chapel with
registration at 2:30 p.m. The afternoon session will deal with
understanding what the drug problem is all about. The Rev. Don Brown,
pastor of First Baptist Church in Creedmoor, will speak about halfway houses.

The evening session will be held in Binkley Chapel and will feature a panel
discussion, "Victory Through Prevention." Panel members will include Stone
and Barber as well as several faculty members at the seminary. The Rev.
Steve Cobb, pastor of Temple Baptist Church of New Bern, will lead a
devotion and give a brief testimony before the panel discussion.

Stone and his associate have urged faculty and administrators at all the
seminaries to add courses of study on the comprehensive treatment of the
drug problem and its solution.

The conferences are being held in cooperation with the seminaries and the
Southern Baptist Convention Drug Abuse Task Force. Stone, who has been
involved in a drug abuse ministry for more than 24 years, made the motion
that created the task force.

A trustee at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, since 1997, Stone
is also a member of the Board of Visitors at Southeastern Seminary. He met
Barber while speaking at a Mesquite, Texas, church in 1997. Barber, a
talented musician, joined Stone in his ministry and assisted Stone during
two of his three walks across America to stimulate a deeper involvement in
solving the drug problem.

The two have written a pair of books, "The Drug Tragedy: Hope for the One
Who Cares" and "The Drug Tragedy: Hope for the One Who Hurts." These are
the core resources for the conferences. In addition, the two have written
the cover article for the September issue of "Home Life," a publication of
the SBC, and will co-author four articles on the subjects being discussed
as part of the seminary conferences. These will begin with the October
issue of "SBC Life." Stone and Barber write a monthly column for Baptist Press.

Further information on the conference at Southeastern is available by
calling Dean Russ Bush at (919) 556-3101. Call to make arrangements for
large groups.